AS Eastbourne are Sussex John Davy Cup (Under-16s) champions for the first time after a 4-0 win over local rivals Eastbourne Borough in Sunday’s final.

With an attendance of 248 people, goals from Mason Creese and Corey Smart as well as two from Kobe Agbude double helped the All Stars ease to a comfortable win at Culver Road. 

The game started in blistering fashion, in a sign of things to come as they took the lead just two minutes into the game. They earned a free kick on the edge of the box, which was taken by Creese. It was parried by Borough captain and goalkeeper Matthew Simons and in the end, it was scored by Agbude who bundled the ball into the net in the second minute after an almighty goalmouth scramble. 

Being a local derby, the game was always bound to cause excitement and the game certainly continue in a slow manner. 

Borough then began to threaten, with Ashley Crabb’s effort testing AS Eastbourne’s Alex Hobden, who tipped the ball over the bar. Lincoln Shearing was their most threatening player. His effort on the half hour mark caused problems for Hobden who was forced to make a save. The resulting corner also put the goalie under pressure, but he dealt with it well as All Stars cleared it away. 

Despite the chance for Borough, it was AS would score next in the 32nd minute as Creese doubled their lead with an individual piece of brilliance and a finish to match. 

Just seconds after the goal, Borough almost halved the deficit. Sonny Walsh was put through on goal but could only hit it straight at Hobden. AS Eastbourne were offered a brilliant chance to make it 3-0, with Creese’s excellent through ball finding captain Levi Bass but fellow skipper Simons made amends for his earlier error with an important save. 

The second half started in the same tone as the first, with action straight away. All Stars had the chance to make it three, but Bass could not find enough contact.

Borough did their best to try and get back into the game, with Shearing once again causing problems for his former team. He channelled his inner Diego Maradona, with some impressive runs in this match.

However, this was not enough as the All Stars got the third, they threatened to get for so long. Smart converted a penalty kick just before the hour mark to all but seal victory.

A fourth would quickly arrive as AS Eastbourne made sure of victory. Ratcliffe demonstrated brilliant ball control with his chest, bringing it down with ease before playing in Agbude. He showed great composure, taking the ball past Simons and into the net for his second of the game.

After their side secured the trophy, manager Crease gave his thoughts on the win and what the future holds for his young side. He said: “Any final is always special. I’ve got to say congratulations to Eastbourne Borough for getting to the final and a making it a great spectacle.

"I thought they were the much better side first half, the 2-0 didn’t reflect the first half. That said, I thought we were the much better side second half. Goals win games.

“Sometimes we need to compete that little bit more and I don’t think we did that first half. Any team of mine must compete. Second half I thought we did.

“Next season we will push them into our under-18’s. Some of those boys will probably play senior men’s football next season. It’s down to them but we will push them as hard as we can."

(A selection of photographs can be found on Facebook - courtesy of Simon Roe Photography)
(Video highlights are available above and on YouTube - courtesy of Your Instant Replay)

Stats (Eastbourne Borough-AS Eastbourne): Goals (0-4), Shots (7-13), Shots on target (3-9), Fouls (9-8), Offsides (0-2), Yellow cards (1-0), Red Cards (0-0) 

Eastbourne Borough: Simons (captain), Wright, Allen, Walsh, Prodger, Burke, Shearing, Crabb, Hill, Pollitt, Davies. 
Subs: Dalton, Howard, Cave

AS Eastbourne: Hobden, Best, Sands, Beaver, Verrall, Farrell, Thomas, Ratcliffe, Creese, Agbude, Bass (captain).
Subs: Smart, Pigatto, Stevens, Stocking, Dabgostar. 

Match Report by Andy Davies